


Fog Catchers

by Reader115



Series: Fog Catchers Alternate Universe [1]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-07
Updated: 2016-10-15
Packaged: 2018-08-20 03:16:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8234180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reader115/pseuds/Reader115
Summary: While traveling, Raphael meets his first fellow mutant turtle. A story stemmed out of a discussion with Sakycchan, who was hoping to read a RaphxLeo story where mutants walked freely topside. Warning: T-cest. I don't own the turtles. Update: Placed 2nd in the "Most Compelling AU" and 2nd in the "Most Turtle-Tastic T-cest" categories of the 2016 Universal Fanfic competition. Artwork certificates included in the final chapter.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sakycchan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sakycchan/gifts).



> In this premise, as my first "mutants walk freely topside" story, I'm thinking mutants occur more at random than by mutagen. Like the X-Men.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "As soon as I saw you I knew a grand adventure was about to happen."
> 
> \- A.A. Milne

He'd grown up on a small island that was situated a ferry ride away from Seattle. And while he loved his small island, he'd also grown up as the only mutant turtle in their community. There were a few other mutants, enough that he didn't feel as though he had too many strange looks as he walked around town, but no turtles. And considering he didn't appreciate any stares in his direction, he should know better than to be caught staring himself. But when a mutant turtle appeared in the aisle of his plane ride home and then began to situate his carry-on bag into the overhead compartment where Raph was seated, Raph couldn't take his eyes off of him.

The other was in a suit, the jacket clearly tailored to cover a shell. And after his small suitcase was stowed, he sat himself down in the aisle seat right next to Raphael, all while trying to type out something on his phone. Raph took in the leafy green color of this turtle's skin, a few shades lighter than his own, and watched as familiar-looking fingers moved over the buttons of the phone.

He stared long enough that the other guy finally turned to look back at him. He was slightly relieved to see the other turtle look startled for a moment, as if the other's shock could alleviate his own guilt about openly staring.

"Hi," Raph offered when bright blue eyes met his.

"Uh, hi."

The other turtle offered a half smile before those eyes returned quickly to his phone. Raph realized he felt disappointed to have lost his attention so quickly. He did his best to stop staring at the guy and instead began watching the other passengers finish boarding. There were a few subtle glances in the direction of the row he was sharing with the other mutant turtle and he wondered how the human passengers would react if they found out that the two of them didn't actually know each other. What were the chances that there would be two turtles on the flight? And that they were seated next to each other? Even though they were strangers?

Although, honestly, watching the other passengers also gave him a good view of this other turtle in his peripheral. The other turtle who currently had a crease in his forehead as he sat frowning down at his phone.

Raph bit his tongue to keep from asking what the hell kind of problem was forcing him to frown so hard like that. Being a fellow turtle didn't give him the right to nose into the guy's business. But, as he side-eyed the other, he realized he really wanted to know what was bothering the guy.

He sighed, mostly at himself, and turned away from the aisle in order to lift the window cover and look outside. It was a cloudy day and the guys who were tossing the luggage onto the conveyer belt were already wearing rain jackets. Unfortunately watching the preparations for take-off only reminded Raph that he was about to be in the air. His fingers tightened around the ends of his two armrests as he silently cursed April for talking him into flying down here and back instead of just driving. April had pointed out that not only did they have the money for him to fly, but that doing so would be faster, giving him more free time down here in Coos Bay to do what he wanted. But those rational thoughts disappeared as he sat crammed in a small airplane seat in what he was pretty sure was one of the smallest planes he'd ever seen.

After plotting a way to get even with his sister for the flight torture, he pulled his own phone out of his pocket to glance at the time. For some reason they were still sitting at the gate, even though they should've taken off at least ten minutes prior. He practically felt the other turtle tense next to him as the flight attendant's voice came through the speakers just then, announcing that due to a maintenance issue, the flight was going to be delayed by at least an hour.

The sound of a frustrated huff let him turn to look at the clearly irritated turtle next to him as the message continued, alerting the passengers that they were allowed to de-board during the delay as long as they took all their belongings with them. Raph could see a small glint of panic in the other turtle's eyes and wondered if it was just the delay that was stressing him out.

"Hey." He suddenly felt brave enough to reach over and bump the other turtle's forearm with his knuckles. "Ya wanna get off with me?"

Startled blue eyes jumped up to meet his face again and Raph wondered why he looked so surprised until he replayed his own _slightly_ _suggestive_ words in his head.

"The plane? Do you want to get off the plane with me?" Raph clarified, doing his best not to flush in front of the other.

He found he couldn't be too embarrassed, though, as he watched the irritation and panic in those blue eyes be replaced by amusement.

Still, the other shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"What if they take off while we're off the plane? I can barely afford this delay, let alone miss this flight."

"Ya can't miss a flight when yer already checked in." Raph offered a small grin. "Plus, they already said it was okay to de-board. They wouldn't leave without us."

"I shouldn't." He was shaking his head again. "I really need to study these documents." He lifted his phone to indicate the location of said documents, answering Raph's question about what had been keeping his interest since he'd first sat down. Raph watched now as those blue eyes turned back to the small phone screen.

He wanted to keep arguing with him, partly because he had the guy's full attention in those moments. And he suddenly wanted nothing more than for the guy to get off the plane with him, especially since the poor turtle looked like he could use a drink.

He opened his mouth to say more but stopped when he noticed that the elderly gentleman who had been seated directly in front of him suddenly stand and turn to face the rest of the passengers on the plane.

"Fellow passengers," the elderly man announced loudly, "this delay has given me an opportunity to entertain you."

Raph's eyes slid to his right and he took in the equally bewildered expression on the other turtle's face.

"You see, my family and I just had the opportunity to hear the Gettysburg Address recited while we were on our trip. And while I have such a captive audience, I am going to recite it for you."

_Recite? Was this guy serious?_

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth -,"

"Let's go."

It was said so low that Raph almost didn't hear it. _Almost_. But when the other turtle stood, grabbed his suitcase from the overhead, and then began moving down the aisle, Raphael quickly hopped up and followed him. He continued to follow as the other led him to a restaurant located next to their gate where they got seats at the bar. He stretched himself out on his stool, happy to be out of the small airplane seat. But even happier, if truth be told, to have the full attention of the other mutant turtle next to him.

He ordered a beer and watched as the other guy actually ordered a green tea. At a bar. If Casey had been there the new guy wouldn't have lived that particular bar order down. But since Casey wasn't there, Raph decided to let the drink order slide as he angled himself towards the other with a grin.

"So, I guess it's safe to assume ya hate history, huh?"

That actually earned him something close to a laugh and movement from the other turtle so that their legs were almost touching under the bar.

" _That_ and I can't afford a headache today."

Their drinks were brought over to them and Raph tilted his glass to eye the color of the beer. Then he took a small sniff at the rim before taking his first sip. He let the taste roll over his tongue for a moment before swallowing and returning his attention to the other.

"So what's yer name?"

"Leonardo," the other said as he tilted his head thoughtfully in Raph's direction. "I'm guessing you haven't met many other turtles, have you Raphael?"

Raph's mouth dropped open in surprise, to which Leonardo tapped the pocket on the front of Raph's t-shirt with one finger. Raph glanced down and found his name printed out on the boarding pass that was sticking out of his shirt pocket. He took a quick swig of his beer to hide his slight embarrassment.

He coughed once as if to clear his throat. "No, I haven't. Zero to be exact. How many have you met?"

"I know a couple," Leo said, although he didn't elaborate. "I guess there really aren't that many turtles registered, so I shouldn't be surprised that you've never met _any_."

"You've actually looked up how many turtles are registered?"

Leonardo huffed out a small laugh and shook his head. "Not me. One of the other turtles I know likes to research."

"Research what?"

"Everything."

Raph could see a certain level of fondness on Leonardo's face as he thought of and spoke about this other turtle and he frowned as a stab of jealousy hit him. Thankfully, Leonardo's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Why are you going to Seattle?"

"I'm on my way home." Raph took another drink from his glass and considered the taste once again before continuing. "Seattle is a pretty busy place. I guess you're going there for business?" He was prying and he knew it. But when Leonardo's face creased into a slight frown at the comment, he quickly backtracked. "What do ya do for fun?"

"Fun?" Now Leonardo's face was creased for an entirely new reason, as if the concept of fun was a foreign concept.

"Yeah. What do you do in yer free time?"

Leo drank his tea and shook his own head. "I don't have a lot of free time."

"That must make it hard to have a relationship."

_Holy hell. Did he really just say that?_

Yes, yes he had. And now he had a front row seat to Leonardo stilling with the hand holding his glass frozen comically in the air between the bartop and his mouth. Leonardo recovered after a few seconds, however. He placed his glass on the bar and met Raph's eyes again.

"It does, actually. Relationships don't really fit in my schedule."

Raph wanted to feel relieved. For some reason it was important to him that Leonardo didn't have someone waiting at home for him. But he didn't like the current distant look in the other turtle's eyes. Or the thought that Leonardo wasn't remotely interested in relationships.

And when the other turtle's eyes moved to their gate, he reluctantly resigned himself to calling for their tab. He quickly paid the bill, ignoring Leonardo's protest that he could pay for his own drink, before he followed Leonardo back to their gate.

Unfortunately, the gate attendant looked surprised to see them. And they understood why a moment later when she informed them that their plane had actually only required a twenty minute maintenance delay. Which meant that their plane had taken off almost ten minutes ago. Without them.

"You can't just let a plane fly away without all the passengers!"

"I'm sorry, sir. We weren't aware that you had de-boarded."

"You didn't notice two large turtles get off the plane and sit twenty feet away?"

Raph could feel himself heating up as he threw his arm out to point to their former seats at the bar. Partly because he didn't truly believe they had been overlooked. And partly because Leonardo had already adamantly said he couldn't miss this plane. And now, because of Raph, he had.

"And you couldn't make one goddamn overhead announcement regardin a final boarding call?"

The gate attendant's eyes moved quickly from the hulking form that was Raphael over to Leonardo, who looked no less irritated. But Leonardo responded by landing a hand on Raph's shoulder and giving a tug.

"Come on, Raphael. We'll figure something out."

Raph glowered at the gate attendant again but let Leonardo drag him away.

They were practically in the next terminal before Raph calmed down enough to speak. "Thanks for pulling me away from there."

At that, Leonardo finally released his shoulder while glancing back the way they'd come with a frown. "I'd like to yell as well," he admitted. "But I thought we should get out of there before she summoned security."

Raph nodded. "Good call." He stopped walking because Leonardo had and decided to try to apologize and see if that would help the knot forming in his stomach. "I'm sorry, Leonardo."

Leonardo shrugged, although he looked pretty upset and slightly lost as he glanced around the airport. "I really needed to be on that plane. That was the last flight of the day to Seattle."

"I had no idea they'd actually leave us."

"It's not your fault, Raphael."

Leonardo's eyes met his again and although he still felt guilty, Raph found that those blue eyes seemed to have a calming effect on him.

"I just have to figure out a new way to get to Blake Island by tonight," Leo said with a sigh.

"Yer goin to Blake Island?"

Leonardo nodded. "Yes. After landing in Seattle I was going to _just barely_ have enough time to taxi over to the ferry that goes to that island and make it to my meeting in time."

"I live on Blake Island. That's where I'm headed."

Leonardo's eyes moved quickly back to his face. "Really?"

"Yeah. Look, it's about a 7 hour drive, so I can't get ya there by tonight," he said with a certain amount of regret in his voice. "But if we can rent a car, we'll at least make it to Seattle tonight. We'll be on the first ferry tomorrow morning to the island. Can ya make that work?"

Leo looked slightly hopeful as he considered the offer. He bit his lower lip which unintentionally dragged Raph's eyes to watch his mouth.

"You really want to road trip with a stranger?" Leonardo asked.

Raph's eyes moved back up to Leonardo's as he grinned. "We'll just pretend we're not strangers. Turtles first, right?" He chuckled as he said it, since Leonardo was his first ever turtle, so the other could wonder what on earth Raph knew about turtle loyalty. But Leonardo didn't laugh in return. Instead he only tilted his head thoughtfully as he considered Raphael.

"Turtles first," Leo agreed softly after a moment. "Do you mind renting the car? I'm going to make a phone call and see if I can get my meeting rescheduled to tomorrow morning."

"Sure. I'll meet ya down there?" He threw a thumb in the direction of the rental car desks.

Leonardo nodded and Raph left him to his phone call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish I was making up "Man yells Gettysburg Address to a captive audience stuck on a plane at the gate (for 2 hours and 15 minutes) while the plane receives maintenance".
> 
> But, sadly, I am not.
> 
> What I left out was that when the man got stuck on a line of the speech (and I thought he'd sit back down and be quiet and the torture would be over), random strangers actually handed him their phones with the speech pulled up so that he could continue! Apparently they were that desperate for a little history. But since it made good fodder for this part of the story, maybe I'll quit my complaining.


	2. Chapter 2

Raphael finished signing the paperwork for the car rental, after having the company throw in the insurance for free after he growled about the plane that had left them behind. He turned to watch for Leonardo and found the other turtle beside him already.

He paused for a moment as he realized that Leonardo had changed out of his suit and now stood beside him in jeans and a blue polo shirt. A blue shirt that made his blue eyes stand out even more, if that was possible. He still looked rather proper by Raph's standards, but the look suited him. And, Raph could see the appeal in having a couple buttons to undo if given the -

"I thought I should save the suit for my meeting."

Raph turned his attention back to the rental paperwork, having clearly been caught staring again, and then turned away from the desk to lead the way to the exit.

"I hope yer not expectin anything fancy," Raph said, doing his best to ignore those last brain images before his face gave him away any further. "Not a lot of selection here."

"I don't care as long as it's a vehicle capable of taking us up the road." Leo continued to follow him as the signs led them to the location of the rental cars. "You do, though, don't you? You have a thing for cars?"

"I don't know if I'd call it a thing," Raph said with an easy grin. His home island was actually so small that there was no need for cars, although a few families had acquired golf carts. But Raph reveled in any chance to drive a car off island. He stopped now, however, as they reached the exit that would lead them to the rental cars.

The skies were nearly black and the rain was coming down in thick sheets. He glanced over to Leonardo and saw a matching worried look on his face. He pulled his phone from his pocket and opened a weather app. Then wordless showed Leonardo the Doppler map. The storm was large, moving slowly, and unlikely to disappear any time soon.

"What do ya wanna do?"

Leonardo appeared to think about it for a few moments before his face steeled and he met Raph's eyes.

"What's a little water to two turtles? At least its still daylight."

"How can ya tell?" Raph muttered as he glanced up at the skies. He turned back to eye Leonardo again and could tell by his expression that he'd already decided they would be venturing out into the weather. "Okay, Fearless, lets go. Apparently we're burnin daylight standin here."

For that he earned a smile, which sufficiently warmed his insides even as they sprinted out into blistering winds and cold rain. He quickly led them to their assigned car and they both practically dove into it in order to get out of the rain.

"What was that you were saying about a little water?" Raph asked as he pulled at his soaked t-shirt that was plastered to his plastron.

Leonardo was in the process of shoving his suitcase into the backseat, which left him not only halfway twisted over the center console, but also only a few inches away from Raphael. And now Raph had the pleasure of watching Leonardo's blue eyes appraise just how well his short sleeves were currently clinging to his biceps.

Leonardo seemed to catch himself, however, and he untwisted in order to sit in his seat correctly. He kept his eyes off Raphael at that point as he buckled his seat belt.

"That, uh, a little water won't hurt you," Leo finally managed to say before he began busying himself with setting up their destination in the car's GPS.

Raph didn't reply. He only grinned to himself as he pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards the main road. He followed where the GPS led and occasionally glanced over at Leonardo as he drove. The other turtle was staring down at his phone screen again and Raphael left him to it, riding in comfortable silence for almost an hour before he noticed Leonardo frowning.

"What're ya worried about?"

Leonardo sighed without looking at him. "I have to basically make a presentation at this meeting. And I'm not sure I'm ready."

"Even with all the studying I've seen ya do?"

"Well," Leo started but then paused. "I'm trying to sell a product, which is actually really genius in design. But I'm just not the designer. And I'm trying to make sure I can translate all the _genius speak_ I got from the designer so that I do the product justice."

"So yer a salesman?"

"No."

Raphael waited, but Leonardo didn't elaborate further. He wondered if he should push him to open up a little more when Leonardo turned the tables on him and asked him a question.

"So why don't you like to fly?"

"Huh?"

"You were practically mangling the armrests on the plane earlier. So I'm guessing you're not a fan about something plane-related. Maybe heights? Or just flying in general?"

Raph glanced thoughtfully at the other turtle. And not just because Leonardo was spot on in his observations, but also because he hadn't been aware that Leonardo had been paying attention to him at all on the plane.

"Yer right. I hate bein in the air."

"So were you upset we missed the plane for yourself at all? Or just for my sake?"

Raph smiled towards the rain-covered windshield and didn't respond to the question. He had a feeling Leonardo already knew the answer anyway. "Okay, yer not a salesman. Are ya detective, Sherlock?"

Leonardo laughed. "First Fearless and now Sherlock?" Raphael grinned at him in return. "I guess Leonardo is a mouthful. You can call me Leo if you want. Most of my friends do."

"Are we friends now, Leo?"

Leo actually didn't respond right away, but as Raph glanced over at him, he realized he was content enough for now with the smile on Leo's face as an answer. He grinned back at him and then grinned wider as Leo rubbed a hand across the back of his neck and turned his head to look out the window.

"So," Leo said with a quick throat clear of his own, "what do you like to do for fun?"

Raphael had an immediate bashful look as he admitted he liked to swim. People always thought it was funny that the turtle's favorite physical pastime was something as unoriginal as swimming.

"Well, you did grow up on an island," the blue eyed turtle said to him with a knowing look. "I like to swim as well, when I get the chance."

Raph smiled back at Leonardo. But he lost his smile as he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Although they were staying steady and straight in their own lane through the downpour, the car next to them was not. Raph swerved as soon as he realized the other car was headed straight for Leo's door. He fought with the steering wheel, but he was no match for a hydroplaning car.

* * *

When he next opened his eyes, he found himself in a hospital bed. But even more alarming than that first realization was that Leo was asleep in the hospital bed beside him. He scrambled to sit upright while calling out Leo's name.

Leo's eyes immediately opened and he was up off the other bed in the next moment in order to stand at Raph's bedside. Raph quickly scanned over the other turtle looking for injuries and realized Leo was scanning him just as carefully.

"Are ya okay?"

"I'm fine, Raphael. Not a scratch," Leo assured him.

He squeezed a hand over Raph's shoulder and Raph soon realized that Leo was actually pushing him back, forcing him to lie back on the pillow again. Raph glanced over at the other hospital bed again and Leo was shaking his head before Raph could form the question.

"I just fell asleep over there while I was waiting for you to wake up. How are you feeling?"

He was feeling relief that Leo was alright. But he then allowed himself to pay attention to his own discomforts. His fingers lifted towards a tight spot on his left temple, although Leo's fingers pulled his hand away before he could actually touch the area.

"You have a couple stitches there. You hit your head on the doorframe when that other car hit us. Do you want me to call a nurse for some pain medication?"

Raph glanced up at Leo again and took in the worried look. And the hovering.

"No, I'm okay, Leo. You can relax." The area the stitches were holding together stung slightly, but other than some slight body aches, he wasn't feeling all that terrible.

Leo sat on the edge of his bed, his hip barely brushing Raph's sheet-covered hip. And while he was no longer hovering, he still looked just as worried.

"I'm really sorry, Raphael. It was my idea to drive in that mess - ,"

"Leo - ,"

"And that car was headed towards my side of the car, Raphael. I saw it. Your quick reflexes saved me, but – ,"

"Leo, seriously -,"

"- you got hurt instead."

Raph sighed and took in the pitiful look on the other turtle's face. He reached a hand out and was happy when one of Leo's hands immediately joined his.

"You can call me Raph," he said after a moment. "That's what my friends call me."

He watched the stress ease out of Leo's shoulders as the other turtle let himself relax there on Raph's bedside. Leo's fingers squeezed his hand and he squeezed right back, reassuring Leo that he should drop the guilt.

"You're sure you're alright?"

Raph nodded. "Tough shells are just one advantage to being a turtle, right?" He shifted slightly in the bed and looked around the room for a clock. When he didn't find one, he asked Leo for the time.

Leo pulled his phone from his pocket and actually yawned as he answered. "It's about 3 a.m."

"Shit." Raph almost tried to sit up again as he realized just how long he'd been out and what that meant for Leo's schedule. "Yer meeting."

Leo tried to soothe him as he pressed Raph back against the pillow again. "Its fine, Raph. I made some phone calls earlier. I mean, I'm sure I look like an unprofessional child now that I've rescheduled once again, but the meeting has been moved back another day."

"Didja tell em you were in a car accident?"

Leo nodded. "Which sounds completely credible _I'm sure_ after my first excuse."

"It's not an excuse if it's true." He paused as he thought about what Leo had just said. "What'd ya tell em the first time?"

"The truth of course," Leo said with a sudden teasing smile on his face. "That I got off the plane to have a drink with a good-looking stranger and the plane took off without me."

Raph flushed and he found himself tightening his hold on Leo's hand. "Ya _didn't_ say it like that."

Leo laughed and the sound made Raph forget about his current aches.

"No, not exactly like that. But even if they do believe me, they probably think I'm cursed when it comes to travel."

Raphael frowned at that. "The car is totaled?"

Leo nodded. "Yes, but I called the rental agency and thanks to the insurance you signed up for, they're bringing us a new one in the morning. Although, I guess it is morning, so make that in a few hours."

"Will I be breakin out of here by then?"

"According to the doctor, if you woke up overnight, they'd let you go in the morning. Hey, do you have anyone you want me to call? Anyone that would be worried about you?"

"Nah. I called my sister earlier and she thinks I'm spending the night in Seattle tonight anyway. I'll call her later to tell her it'll be another day."

He felt Leo's thumb begin to rub over the back of his hand, and found the gesture, as well as Leo's calming blue eyes pinned on him, so relaxing that he actually began to blink to keep his eyes open.

"Will you sleep if I sleep?"

"I guess."

He wasn't sure how to keep Leo next to him, while also allowing Leo to rest as well, so he had no good response when Leo's hand left his and Leo's weight left his bed to move back to the other bed. But his eyes closed against his will and he was soon back to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Raph gratefully accepted a spare t-shirt from Leo the next morning. His original shirt had been ruined in the crash and he'd laughed at Leo's perplexed face as Leo finally realized that he didn't have a suitcase on him. His bag had been checked on their flight.

"Okay, I'm taking back the Sherlock nickname for that little oversight," he said with a loud chuckle.

Leo frowned at him, but soon his lips were curling into a smile. "Can I keep Fearless?"

"For now." Raph raised an eye ridge at him as if he was considering it.

Leo disappeared while he changed, which gave him a private opportunity to focus on how nice Leo's shirt smelled as he pulled it down over his head. Then he signed his discharge papers and Leo returned just in time to wheel him out to the main exit.

"Where'd ya go?"

"I got the keys for our new rental car and moved my suitcase into it." Leo offered a hand and helped Raph stand from the wheelchair. "Then I called the Seattle airport, confirmed that they had your suitcase, and convinced them to deliver it to your address."

"You don't have my address."

"The airline has it." Leo's hand released Raphael's but that same hand landed on Raph's shoulder and Raphael watched as Leo's eyes scanned over him. When Raph was deemed able to stand on his own without issue, Leo released him.

"Yer used to takin care of others," Raph said. He got a quick side-eye from Leo, but no further response. "Ya ever let anyone take care of you?"

"Our car is this way," Leo said, pointedly ignoring him as he led the way through the parking lot. "Oh, and the police want a statement from you about the accident. But since they already talked to me yesterday and the other guy admitted to losing control and hitting us first, I asked if they could give you a few days to recover before they call you."

Leo reached their car, opened the front passenger door, and then waited.

"You want me to drive?" The urge to smile was great. But he managed to keep his face in check.

Leo looked confused. "No." He glanced down at the door he was holding open and then back up to Raphael. Then he scowled at the amused turtle and released the door to go around to the driver side, leaving Raph to fend for himself. "Get in the car, Raph."

Raph laughed loudly then, feeling only slightly bad about teasing Leo and his chivalrous actions. He eased into the car and pulled the door shut behind him before grinning over at Leo again. "Yer a real gentleman, Leo."

Leo continued to scowl as he fussed with the GPS, but Raph could see that the expression didn't quite reach his eyes.

"How much do I owe you for my half of this rental car?" Leo asked once the destination had been set.

"Ya don't."

"Why not? Did they give you the car for free?"

"No. I paid for it." Raph reclined his seat a bit, mainly to allow more comfort for his shell, but he realized he was already feeling drowsy again. "My fault ya missed that plane," he managed to say before his eyes shut, sending him back to sleep before Leo even pulled out of the parking lot.

* * *

The car suddenly stopping woke him several hours later and he took a moment to orient himself as his eyes popped open. Leo was turning the car off where he'd parked it inside the Seattle airport parking garage. He reached over and squeezed Raph's shoulder as he peered at him.

"Those pills really knocked you out. Feeling okay?"

Raph nodded, although his current thoughts were centered on the feeling of Leo's fingers on him again. They'd touched often in the last 24 hours alone and while each occurrence had been completely innocent, he was beginning to crave more and more contact with the other turtle.

"No more pills for me," he finally said. His sister was constantly on him about taking medication when he needed to, but the truth was, he just didn't want to sleep through any more time he had to spend with Leonardo.

Leo released his shoulder and moved to exit the car. Raph followed and stretched beside the vehicle as he watched Leo hand over the keys to the rental car attendant. Then they moved through the garage until they reached the taxi queue. Leo gave the driver the address he had for the Blake Island Ferry Marina as they climbed into a cab.

"Have you ever been to Seattle?" Raph asked as they headed down the highway and the city's downtown was spread out before them. When Leo shook his head in response, Raph quickly changed the destination address with their driver. "Don't worry," he said when Leo appeared immediately concerned. "I will get you on Blake Island tonight. But first, we have to do the most touristy thing there is to do in this city."

He wouldn't say anything further than that, despite the way Leo was currently scowling at him. Leo lost the glare, however, when they were dropped off on the sidewalk under the Space Needle.

"Wait here," Raph said as he left Leo to stare up at the impressive structure.

He returned a few moments later with tickets and was soon ushering Leo inside. They were stopped before the elevator for a picture in front of a green screen and Raph froze as he suddenly realized he wasn't sure how he should stand or where to put his arms. He tried to tell himself to do _something_ before Leo thought he was an idiot who didn't understand how a camera worked. But then Leo slung an arm around his shoulders and leaned in with a huge dorky smile for the camera. Raph immediately relaxed under Leo's arm and sent his own small smile towards the photographer as well.

Then they were in the elevator and being lifted over 500 feet to the main observation deck. He stood back against the far wall for the ride, where there were no windows that showed him how fast they were climbing. But he watched as Leo practically pressed his face to the glass on the other side of the car, allowing him to watch how quickly they moved away from the ground.

And once they reached the top, Leo yanked him out of the safe inside viewing zone to the outdoor platform. Raph watched as Leo's dorky grin only grew as they walked the circular building until Leo had had a chance to look from every vantage point. They ended up in what was Raph's favorite spot, as it gave them a view of not only some of downtown Seattle and one of the waterfronts, but also a perfect view of Mt. Rainier.

"It looks like its floating," Leo said as he stared in wonder at the mountain.

With the way the mountain was surrounded by clouds, causing only the mountain top to be visible, Raph had always thought so as well and he nodded in agreement now with Leo.

When Leo had had his fill outside, they went back in and Raph led him to one of the photo machines. He scanned Leo's ticket in the machine and watched as the picture of the two of them taken at the front entrance filled the screen.

"You, uh, choose which Seattle background ya like best," he explained. "Then they email it to ya for free."

Leo flashed a smile at him before he began scrolling through the backgrounds. Raph took his own ticket to another machine to do the same, feeling warmed once again by a mere look from the other turtle. But that warm feeling began to disappear as they rode the elevator back down to the earth. He led the way from the Space Needle through the downtown streets to where the ferry was waiting to take them over to Blake Island. A strange feeling began to fill him while they walked as he realized he was about to say goodbye to his new friend, with no real plan for when he'd see him again.

Having chosen a spot to stand by one of the railings, he was quiet on the ferry as they crossed the waters to his home. Ever since he was old enough to make the trip unsupervised, he and his buddy Casey had enjoyed ferrying over to Seattle often, although he realized he'd never been up in the Space Needle with Case. But even with as much fun as they'd have drinking and goofing off around the Public Market, he'd always been happy on the ferry ride back. He loved his home. And he certainly had never had such a heavy feeling of dread as he headed towards it.

Next to him, Leo had rested his forearms on the railing and was leaning over the side to eye the water as they chugged along. But Raph could also feel him glancing over at him from time to time.

"Are there any sights on Blake Island I should see?" Leo finally asked him.

Raph huffed out a laugh. He loved the island, but there were zero tourist attractions. Raph liked it that way, though. It kept tourists contained over in Seattle.

"Well, there are a lot of great trails, some of which lead to some private watering holes, although it's a little too cold to swim right now." He shrugged.

"Uh oh, well then what does that leave you to do for fun in the cold months?" Leo asked, bumping his elbow into Raph's elbow.

Leo's teasing grin was infectious and Raph forgot about his sulk as he bumped his elbow right back into Leo.

"There's a bowling alley."

"You bowl?"

"No."

Leo laughed, having already guessed the answer.

"There's a movie theater," Raph continued, doing his best to ignore him. "We used to have to wait for new movies until they were finished showing them on the mainland, but enough people complained so that now we get them when they're released."

"Thank goodness for modern technology." Leo grinned down at the water. "I didn't ask before, but you do have indoor plumbing over here, right?"

This time Raph bumped his shoulder into the other, nearly knocking Leo over a step.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" Leo laughed as he grabbed hold of Raph's arm to balance himself.

Raph would've thought that Leo would let go of him as he found his feet again. But the other turtle didn't. Instead, he felt Leo's fingers squeeze lightly over his bicep and while he was concerned that meeting Leo's eyes would cause the other to release him, he slowly did so anyway. Leo's teasing grin was gone, although there was a glint of something in his eyes that Raph was desperate to read.

Leo did let go of his arm then, but he tilted his head at Raph before asking, "And there's a gym on the island? Somewhere with weights?"

Raphael flushed. It was one thing for him to think that _maybe_ Leo was feeling up his bicep, but having Leo confirm it was something he almost wasn't prepared for.

"My other favorite physical activity." His voice was suddenly gruff and he watched as Leo's eyes moved to his mouth as he spoke.

"Sounds like you have plenty to do over here."

Raph nodded, breaking their eye contact to watch the ferry pull into the dock. "I've never had any complaints."

 _Until now_. The thought hit him suddenly. He wasn't sure he'd ever fully realized what it would have been like to have another turtle around. But more than that, he realized he would've liked to have grown up with _Leonardo_ around.

"Our downtown is basically two main roads." Raph had offered to walk Leo to his hotel as they de-boarded the ferry and he led them in that direction now. "And that's the hotel right there." He stopped where he was and pointed to the large building.

Leo looked slightly unsure as his head turned in that direction.

"What are ya gonna do tonight?"

"Well, uh, I guess I'd better finish preparing for the meeting."

Raph nodded, although he was slightly satisfied to see what he was pretty sure was reluctance on Leo's face.

"Hey, thanks for me getting me to the island, Raphael."

"Yeah, no problem." But he frowned as he said it. Leo's thanks sounded too much like a goodbye. "How about if ya get hungry, ya call me. I know a good place for dinner."

"Okay," Leo said, and Raph frowned again because he couldn't tell by Leo's response if he was actually going to call or not.

But he gave Leo his number and then shook the hand Leo offered. He stood rooted to the sidewalk as he watched Leo turn and head towards the hotel. He remained in that spot until Leo disappeared into the building.

Then he turned and began to walk towards his own home.


	4. Chapter 4

He lifted his suitcase from the porch where the airline had left it and pulled it through his front door. He'd just managed to shut the door when his phone rang, which he answered before the second ring.

"Raph?"

Leo's voice. And he sounded upset. Raphael immediately turned around and headed right back out the door.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry for calling. I know you already got me this far and I should just - ,"

"Leo." He cut him off with a sharp growl of his name. "What's wrong?"

Leo sighed. "They said I called and canceled my hotel reservation. And they're full now. There's some big wedding here this weekend or something. No open rooms."

"Stay there. I'm on my way."

He found Leo standing outside the hotel, looking somewhat lost, with his bag sitting on the ground next to his feet.

"I'm sorry," Leo repeated as Raph approached him, although Raph ignored the statement as he was currently drinking up the appreciation he could see in Leo's blue eyes. "I'm sure you have a life to get back to here, but - ,"

"Come on." Raph cut him off again. He picked up Leo's bag and began to walk down the sidewalk, sure that Leo would follow him. Sure enough, Leo appeared at his side a moment later and visibly relaxed as he fell in step with Raphael.

He walked Leo over to his favorite restaurant, waved a hello to the seating hostess, and led Leo directly to stools at the bar where they were immediately greeted by the bartender.

"Hey, loser! When you'd get home?"

Raph grinned as Casey leaned over the bar and punched him in the arm in greeting.

"Just now. Casey, this is Leo. We met on the trip. And Leo this is my oldest friend, Casey."

"Wow, yer just his type," Casey said with a wide grin as he shook Leo's hand. He turned his goofy grin back to Raphael. "Get it? Cause yer both turtles? Just yer type?"

"Har, har," Raph answered, doing his best to keep his flush under control while side-eyeing Leo for his reaction. Leo smiled pleasantly back at Casey, but Raph could tell his missing hotel reservation was still bothering the guy.

"What the hell you'd do to yer head?" Casey asked. He reached forward to poke Raphael where a bandage covered his temple but snatched his hand back before Raph could bat it away.

"Couple stitches from an accident. It's no big deal."

"Yer sis know about this accident?"

"I'll tell her later."

"You better."

Raph rolled his eyes at the pointed look Casey was sending him. "Go get us two plates of tonight's special, will ya?"

"Sure thing, man."

Casey disappeared into the back and Raph leaned over the bartop in order to pull up a bottle of clear liquid and two small glasses. He poured a glass for each of them and set one in front of Leo. He got a dubious look in response.

"I don't really drink, Raph."

"Come on, yer not drinking tea in this bar."

"Technically it appears to be a restaurant with a bar component."

Raph narrowed his eyes at him.

"Green tea is an aid to relaxation."

"So is this." Raph bumped the glass with his knuckles. "Come on, make an exception."

Leo sighed loudly but lifted the glass and downed the drink in such a quick gulp that even Raph's eyes widened. But there was no coughing or gasping for breath following the quick swallow. Instead, Leo's eyes lit up and he met Raph's eyes with a small smile.

"That's good."

Raphael returned an actual smile. There was something about earning a sincere smile from Leo that made him want to stay right there and bask in it. He eyed the liquid from the side of his own glass and then took a drink as well.

"So who would call and cancel yer reservation?" He watched as Leo's blue eyes fell to the bar top as he half shrugged and looked a little lost again. The kind of lost that made Raph want to reach out to him and – well not hug him exactly - but maybe just pull Leo in and crush him to his plastron. _Wait, was that a hug?_

"I think a total of three people even knew about this trip. And none of them would call and cancel my room."

"Yer sure?"

A humorless laugh fell from Leo's mouth as he nodded just as Casey reappeared, bearing two dinner plates for them.

"I see ya already helped yerself to the good stuff," Casey said, eyeing the bottle Raph had snagged. He lifted the bottle and refilled Leo's glass. "There's a wedding in town this weekend and we've been super busy. That stuff has been flying off the shelf."

Raph glanced around then, noting some regulars, but a lot of extra unknown people as well.

"Good for business," he said.

"Very good for business," Casey nodded. "Ya let me know if ya need anything else."

They ate in a comfortable silence, both too busy chewing to talk much, but Raph could tell Leo seemed to be lost in thought as well. He decided to do what he could to distract the other turtle.

"You've probably been too busy moping to notice, but there's someone at the other end of the bar who's been checkin ya out. And they're not a local, which means maybe they have a hotel room ya could share."

He forced a grin, but his eyes were sharply focused on Leo's reaction. And he watched as, to Leo's credit, those blue eyes didn't even glance in that direction to see who Raph was referring to. Instead, Leo's eyes lifted to his again and Raphael found himself trying not to fidget under the sudden scrutiny.

"You think it'd be a good idea for me to try to share a night with a random stranger?" Leo finally asked.

Raphael swallowed. Because he got the distinct feeling that Leo could see straight through him.

"No." He shook his head. "I don't think ya should share yer night with a random stranger."

"Good." There was a small pause before Leo continued. "I've never done that anyway." But then Leo had a lopsided grin as his suddenly glassy eyes zeroed in on Raph again. "I bet you have, though. Haven't you? I bet there's always someone in here trying to drag you home."

Raph found himself smiling sincerely once again while simultaneously wondering just how much of a lightweight Leo was to be drunk after only two drinks.

"Am I right? I bet your list is long." Leo rolled his emptied glass between his hands

"Definitely." Raph nodded along. "In fact, I keep an _actual_ list. In a display case in my house."

Leo's laugh was loud. "With special lighting?"

"Set on a timer." He was grinning big again. In a way that he never did. There was an ease with Leo that he didn't typically feel. And he found his insides warming every time Leo laughed.

"Can I have another?" Leo asked after another moment, and waved his glass in the air. "What is this anyway?" he asked as Raphael filled his glass again.

"It's called the Red Ninja. It's from a local vodka company."

"Red ninja," Leo murmured after another sip. "Why?"

"Cause it'll sneak up and bite ya in the ass if yer not careful." Raph's tone was playful, so he was surprised when Leo didn't laugh this time. Instead those blue eyes met his once again in careful scrutiny.

"Like you?"

Raphael swallowed again as he met Leo's intense gaze.

"Yeah," he finally rumbled back to Leo. "I could definitely do that."

* * *

Raphael had never before had to help anyone who was as heavy as he was walk. Although, since Leo was currently being _completely_ _unhelpful_ , he wasn't sure he could call what Leo was doing walking. Their shells were not light. Add in that he was also trying to keep hold of Leo's suitcase and Leo's ass was lucky that he hadn't managed to drop him. Yet. By the time he reached his front door, he was practically carrying Leo, which made unlocking and opening the door a real accomplishment.

He moved Leo into his dark main room, eyed the couch, and then headed back to the bedroom, deciding to leave his friend somewhere comfortable. He could easily sleep on the couch tonight himself.

Once he reached the bedroom, he thought about just dumping Leo onto the bed, especially considering how heavy the guy was. But at the last second found himself leaning over the side of the bed to gently deposit Leo down onto it. Which, for the moment, left Leo sprawled out like a feast with Raphael hovering over him.

Leo's blue eyes popped open when he hit the mattress and he stared up at Raph with his glassy eyes and a small grin.

"You want to kiss me."

It was said as such a plain fact statement that Raph found that all he could do was nod in agreement as he stared down at the _come get me_ look in those hooded blue eyes.

He licked his lips and fought the strong urge to dip down and plunder Leo's mouth with his tongue. Because he really _really_ wanted to. He wanted to crush Leo into this mattress and spend the rest of the night tangled together with him.

"Yeah I do," he finally managed, his voice raspy with want as Leo's hands began to slide their way up his arms. "But I'm not gonna while yer drunk."

He forced the words out of his traitorous mouth and watched as Leo scowled at him in response before tightening his fingers around Raph's arms.

"Uh uh, Fearless." He wrestled his arms away from the surprisingly strong turtle. "I'm not doin anythin ya won't remember." He moved across the room to dig through Leo's bag for something for the other to sleep in. "Looks like yer choices are limited, so I'm goin with this." He pulled a t-shirt from Leo's bag and eyed the logo on the back of it – several books stacked on top of each other - before turning towards the other turtle.

The other _snoring_ turtle.

He sighed as he tossed the shirt back into Leo's bag. Then he moved to the bedside and covered Leo with a blanket before staring down at the passed out turtle. His hand lifted so that he could slide his fingers down Leo's face but he jerked his hand away before he could touch him and quickly retreated into the bathroom, locking the door behind himself.

A few moments later he was under the spray of a very cold shower.


	5. Chapter 5

Mumbled words drifted out from under the pillow that was currently covering Leo's head.

"Why'd you give me so many drinks?"

"Cause ya asked for them. Anyway, it was probably good for ya."

"I don't think this headache is good for me," Leo muttered.

Raph wasn't sure what time Leo's meeting was today, so he'd begun nudging the other turtle awake a few minutes prior. He removed the pillow and leaned forward into Leo's vision so the other could see the glass of water he had to offer. Then waited while Leo moved slowly from his plastron to a sitting position before he handed over the water and some pills.

"It's good for ya to relax every once in a while. Plus, yer havin a real shit storm for a vacation."

Leo swallowed the pills but shook his head. "Not vacation."

"All the more reason for you to have taken a night off and let loose."

"How loose?" Leo grumbled. "I don't even remember leaving the restaurant last night." He handed the glass back and Raphael watched as Leo took a deep sniff in through his nose as he glanced around the room for the first time. "Is this your bedroom?"

Raph nodded. "Yeah. I, uh, thought you'd be more comfortable here. I slept out on the couch."

Leo swung his legs over the side of the bed and slowly stood on wobbly legs. "Oh, God, Raphael, I am so sorry. When I called you last night my intention was not to get drunk and kick you out of your own bed."

Raph landed both his hands on Leonardo's shoulders, partly because the other didn't look entirely stable yet, and partly because he wanted Leo's full attention on his face.

"Hey, I have no issue with anything that happened last night." He made sure to keep his eyes locked with Leo's as his thumbs brushed over the other's shoulders. "I don't think ya let others help you all that often and I was happy to be there for ya."

Leo stared back at him for a moment before he relaxed his shoulders under Raph's squeezing fingers. "Yeah, but you've already gone above and beyond helping me these past couple days."

"So? Turtles first, right?"

Leo tilted his head before nodding slowly. "I'm really glad I met you, Raphael."

Raph grinned back at him and tightened his fingers over Leo's shoulder for a quick squeeze before he released him to stand on his own two feet.

"What time is yer meeting?"

"Right after lunch."

"Okay, well the bathroom is over there. And then I'll meet ya in the kitchen."

"This is a real nice bed and breakfast you have here."

Raph grinned at the tease, happy to hear Leo joking with him again. He stopped in the doorway to glance back at him.

"I'll feed ya breakfast under one condition."

Leo raised an eye ridge in question.

"I want ya to come back over here when yer meeting's over."

"Okay."

Raph turned and headed to the kitchen to pull some eggs for omelets. He grinned to himself as he thought about how there'd been no hesitancy in Leo's response.

* * *

Raph was working in his kitchen that afternoon when he spotted Leo walking towards his house. Half his mouth lifted in a grin as he shut his laptop and left it on the kitchen table before making his way to the front door to let the guy in. Leonardo still hadn't told him the details of this meeting, but he thought maybe that was due to Leo's nerves about the presentation he was supposed to give. He was hoping he'd open up to him now that the meeting was over.

But he frowned as Leo got closer to the front door. Leo was still wearing his tie and buttoned shirt, but the suit jacket had been tucked over one arm. And Leo looked upset, although he was also doing his best to school his face into a neutral expression, something Raph found he was able to see through immediately.

He barely waited for Leo to have crossed the threshold and was still closing the door behind him when he asked what had happened.

The other turtle tossed his suit jacket onto the back of the closest chair. "She - ," Leo stalled out, his mouth opening and shutting a few times with no words coming out.

Raph watched those blue eyes stare unfocused at the floor for a few moments before they lifted to his face.

"I got there and they were surprised to see me, because they said they'd already met with my business partner yesterday."

"You have a business partner?"

"No." Leo's tone was cold as he turned away and moved to stand and stare out one of the front windows.

"Did ya still get to meet with em?"

"No." Leo shook his head. "The person I was supposed to meet with wasn't even there. She's off island now or something. They said that since my _business partner_ was there yesterday, that she wasn't expecting a meeting today."

"Did the _business partner_ pitch yer product?"

"Apparently yes."

Raph grimaced. "Who the fuck would do that?"

Leo exhaled a shaky breath and Raph reacted without thinking, moving forward to wrap his arms around Leo's shoulders from behind. Although, he realized as he was doing so, that he was actually pretty comfortable invading Leo's personal space.

"Hey, everything is gonna be alright."

He felt Leo move and for a moment thought maybe the other turtle was trying to pull away from him. But then he realized that Leo was only trying to turn. So he loosened his grip and allowed Leo to twist so that they were facing each other. Then he tightened his arms around the other's shoulders again as Leo let his forehead fall to Raph's shoulder.

"You can't know that," Leo murmured.

"No," Raph said with a half shrug. "But I've seen you in action over the last couple days and I'm bettin ya can handle this."

Leo sighed and Raph actually shivered as Leo's breath hit his neck.

"And I'm gonna help ya. Okay? I know everyone on this island. We'll go back to that office tomorrow and I'll help ya straighten this out."

"I can't ask you to do that."

"Yer not askin me to do it. I'm just gonna do it."

Leo sighed again, sending another shiver through Raphael. "This trip has been a disaster."

"Well, except for meeting me, right?" Raph joked.

Leo lifted his head from Raph's shoulder and Raph watched as those blue eyes, which had been full of frustration and confusion a few moments ago, now softened as they scanned over his face.

"You're the only good thing about this trip."

Leo's arms rose from his sides Raph felt his heart start to race faster as Leo's fingers trailed over his biceps.

"Raph?" Leo asked slowly, "is it okay if I kiss you?"

Raphael licked his lips and tilted his head forward, his eyes focused on Leo's lips for a moment before meeting those blue eyes one more time. Then he lunged forward and pressed his mouth to Leo's mouth.

He had experience with kissing. Kissing wasn't new to him. But somehow kissing Leo felt like the first proper kiss he'd ever delivered. Their mouths fit together like puzzle pieces. In a way that had never occurred when he had kissed anyone before. It was feeling like the first proper kiss he'd ever received as well, based on how well Leo's lips were moving against his.

With Leo's tongue soon twisting around his own and Leo's fingers tightening over his arms, he growled as he began moving them away from the front door. He let himself fall into a seated position as the back of his knees hit the couch, though he wasn't separated from Leo for long as the other turtle immediately took the opportunity to straddle his lap and move his lips to Raph's neck.

" _Jeezus_." He twitched under Leo's mouth and sparks of pleasure shot down his neck to his arms, his shell, his plastron, his fucking groin.

"God, you smell good," Leo murmured before leaching his mouth back onto Raph's neck.

"Yeah?" Raph stilled only for a moment as Leo's words hit him. Mainly because one of his previous bedmates, not that there had been many in his history, but the last one had mentioned that he seemed to emit a strong smell when he was aroused, a smell that unfortunately said bedmate didn't enjoy. To the point where they were intimate less and less until they called it quits. And Raph hadn't pursued a relationship with anyone since then, feeling too self-conscious to want to try.

But, based on his own reaction to the incredible scent Leo was currently emitting, he was inclined to believe that Leo was actually enjoying his scent. The thought warmed him further and he felt himself relax even more under Leo's talented mouth. He arched his head back to give Leonardo better access to his neck and was rewarded with an appreciative noise from Leo.

His hands fumbled for the buttons on Leo's shirt, although he found he needed to remove the tie first. He'd really admired Leo in his suit that afternoon when he'd left for his meeting, but now he was cursing all the pieces to it. Because once he'd tugged the tie loose enough to get it over Leo's head, an act that had Leo growling at him since it forced him to separate his mouth from Raphael's neck, he found that the damn buttons on the shirt were freakishly tiny.

"If I give ya another buttoned shirt for yer suit for tomorrow, will you be okay with losing this shirt?"

Leo pulled his head back to look at him and Raph nearly groaned as those half-lidded hazy blue eyes looked back at him. _Jeezus_. He was ready to sign up to make it his new life mission to make sure Leo's eyes looked like that as often as possible.

"Lose the shirt?" Leo asked, clearly confused and doing his best to wrap his otherwise occupied brain around Raph's words.

"Fuck it," Raph murmured. He grabbed the two sides of the front of Leo's shirt, pulled, and was soon grinning as buttons flew. Then he grinned wider, because there was no confusion about which parts of Leo's body to touch for the best response. His fingers pressed teasingly into the cartilage on Leo's plastron and he immediately heard Leo's breathing speed up. His fingers dipped over Leo's sides and roamed around to his shell, already eager to explore the grooves he'd find there.

"Raaaph." Leo released his neck and nuzzled his face into the side of Raph's face.

As much as Raph would like to memorize the patterns on Leo's shell, the sound of his name moaned out of Leo's mouth like that immediately forced his hands lower to squeeze over Leo's pant-covered rear end. A squeeze that led to Leo jerking his hips forward. There was a subtle grind of their lower plastrons against each other, which was enough to pull a noise from Leo that Raph was all too familiar with, even if he'd never heard it from another before.

"Oh fuck," he whispered as he pulled Leo even closer to his plastron with a possessive tug. Leo churred again in response and soon Raph was answering the churr with one of his own.

He stilled for a moment when Leo's head snapped up. The churr had been met by questioning looks in the past. But when he glanced up at Leo now, all he could see was a hungry look in those blue eyes.

"Oh, I like that sound, Raphael," Leo whispered.

"Lose the pants and I'll fill yer night with that sound."

Leo's eyes sparked at him and a small smile pulled at his lips. "What else are you willing to fill?"

Raph churred at him again and in the next moment he was on his feet and dragging Leo back into the bedroom. "Yer gonna kill me," he growled. Leo only chuckled in response as he pulled Raph's t-shirt over his head and then did his best to undo the button of Raph's jeans before they even reached the bedroom.

Leo's pants were pushed off quickly and while slowly teasing Leo was probably a fun activity that he'd look forward to in the future, for now Raph's thumb immediately rubbed the length of Leo's slit, a move that had Leo arching against him where they stood. Since his thumb was currently distracting Leo from Leo's previous task of getting his jeans off the rest of the way, he reluctantly pulled his hand away from Leo's bulging slit, pushed Leo back onto the bed, and finished the task of getting his jeans into a pile on the floor.

Then he climbed onto the bed and hovered over the other turtle. He took a moment to admire the _come get me_ look that was once again shining up at him from Leo's hooded blue eyes. And he reveled in the way Leo's fingers were once again sliding over his arms.

His churred at the turtle beneath him as his hand returned to Leo's slit. Leo dropped down immediately for him, throbbing and warm and Raph didn't hesitate to dip his head and take the length into his mouth. He almost grinned as he heard an actual swear word fall out of Leonardo's mouth in response.

Leo's hips arched repeatedly as Raph worked his mouth over him, alternating between exploring the pulsing vein he found and doing his best to suck Leo's hard length towards his throat. He listened to Leo's praises and practically moaned himself as Leo's scent filled his nose and curled into a growing warmth in his stomach.

And while he distracted Leo with his mouth, his fingers began stretching Leo to accommodate him, a process that didn't take long, if Leo was to be believed, as he began dragging Raph up by his shoulders and spreading muscular thighs for Raph to fall between.

"Fuck," Raph groaned as he sank into tight heat. "You are gonna kill me." His hips thrust forward and he watched as Leo's mouth fell open in pleasure. "Jeezus." He just fit here. The two of them just fit together.

Strong legs wrapped tightly around Raph's hips and Leo arched himself as far up as his shell would allow as he continued to churr and pant with almost every one of Raph's movements. Raph reached down and wrapped a hand around Leo's length in order to further satisfy his partner. And he seemed to be doing the job, if Leo chanting his name was any indication. Encouraged, he moved his hips faster as churrs repeatedly rolled up his own throat.

Then he felt Leo begin to tremble within his grip and watched in wonder as Leo fell over the edge, simultaneously relaxing in his release, as well as managing to clench around Raphael. Raph cursed once again as he was hit with an entirely new sensation that jerked his entire body over Leo's with his own release. He let his head fall to Leo's shoulder and did his best to catch his breath. He listened to Leo's own panting breaths and minutes passed before he opened his mouth to say anything.

"Yer pretty fuckin incredible," he rumbled to the turtle beneath him.

Leo's mouth remained open as he gulped in air. But he still managed to lean his head forward and bite lightly into Raph's shoulder. Raph chuckled and rolled them to their sides.

"I needed that." Leo's voice was hoarse as his eyes finally opened again. "I need _you_ , Raphael."

Raph ran a thumb down the side of Leo's face. His brain was still a little fuzzy, but he easily recognized the sincere need and adoration he could see in Leo's eyes. He rewrapped his arms around the other turtle and pulled him closer. He was going to kiss him for as long as Leo would let him. Then they'd sleep. And tomorrow, when his brain was ready to function again, he'd figure out a way to keep Leonardo.


	6. Chapter 6

Raphael woke up slowly the next morning, taking the time to appreciate how satisfied and warm his body still felt from the night before. He stretched his arms out and realized very quickly that neither arm was touching another body. His eyes popped open and he found himself alone in his bed.

He frowned as he sat up, because the house was as quiet as ever. A quiet he was used to and normally enjoyed. But right now he found the quiet eerie as he stood and peeked into the empty bathroom. And the empty main room. And the empty kitchen. He returned to his bedroom and stared down at the now empty spot where Leonardo's suitcase had been sitting for the past two nights.

He retraced his steps looking for any sign of the other turtle. And then felt stupid for doing so when he found none.

He gingerly picked up his phone and scrolled to Leo's number. But he couldn't make himself push the button. Instead, he glanced at the clock – _he'd slept in till almost ten!_? – and then dialed a different number. He listened to it ring and waited impatiently for an old high school friend to pick up.

"Hey, Gus. Are ya runnin the ferry this morning?"

"Hey, Raph. Yeah, man I am."

"Listen, have you seen a turtle?"

Gus laughed. "Yeah, I did! Guess you're not the only one, huh? He was here waiting for the first ferry of the day. I brought him to the mainland on the 6 am. He a friend of yours?"

Raph barely heard the last question as his heart sank.

* * *

Raphael moved easily behind the bar as he fetched drinks and filled the orders brought to him by the restaurant wait staff. He could feel Casey's eyes on him every now and then, but so far his best friend wasn't confronting him about his quiet demeanor, even if it had been going on for days, and for that Raphael was thankful.

His sister, however, was another matter. April arrived at the end of the night as Raph and Casey were doing a quick inventory check. She greeted her husband with a quick kiss and then zeroed her sights in on her little brother.

"No," he said automatically.

"I haven't said anything yet." April dropped the folder she'd been carrying down onto the bar before taking a seat on a stool.

"You got that look, like ya have a plan for me."

"My plans are fantastic. I don't know what you're whining about."

"Yer last plan had me on a fuckin plane and - ," he cut himself off. He glared down at the bottles he'd been arranging and then ignored April and Casey calling out to him as he quickly ducked into the kitchen. He moved past the staff who were shutting down the kitchen for the night and pushed his way through the back door.

From there he took off in a sprint, sticking to the shadows so no one out walking this late at night would feel like stopping him to talk. Because he knew everyone on this island, which was a blessing and a curse. He'd never been lonely growing up. He had his grandmother. His sister. Casey. And yet, he'd bought his house and moved to the outskirts of town as soon as he could. Because he liked his privacy. And after dealing with customers at the bar all night, he liked the quiet.

He ducked into the forest and headed down his favorite path. It eventually led to a waterlined rocky area that was perfect for a guy with a shell to relax and listen to the waves. And it was in fact where he'd been spending his nights for the past few nights. Because now he hated his fucking private house. And he hated the fucking quiet.

And even though he'd rearranged the furniture in his bedroom, he couldn't do enough to cover the spot where Leonardo's suitcase had been sitting.

" _Shit_." He growled at himself as he settled into the sand with his shell pressed against a rock. He wasn't supposed to be thinking about the other turtle. The other turtle who hadn't called him, or texted him, or _come back_ , was supposed to be turning into a faint memory. Or even better, erased from his mind entirely.

He didn't need the other turtle to come back anyway. He was fine being the only turtle on this island _and_ fine with being alone. If he could just get those goddamn blue eyes out of his head every time his shut his goddamn eyes -

"Please stop."

Raph's head snapped up at his sister's voice and he glared at Casey and April's faces where they peeked out over his rock.

"Don't look surprised, loser. You think we don't know where your hiding spot is?"

Raph sighed and turned his face away from them, although he was already resigned to having company.

"I know you haven't told me what happened." April slid down the rock to settle in next to her brother while Casey moved to sit on a rock across from them. "But you look like you're beating yourself up about something and I want you to stop."

"I'm fine, April."

"We showed up at yer house last night and you weren't there," Casey said.

"And while we didn't come get you last night, we're not letting you spend another night out here, Raphael."

"Ya don't have to mother hen me, April."

"It's cold."

"And ya have a perfectly comfortable bed back at yer -," Casey cut himself off as he watched Raph duck his head, "unless there's a good reason yer avoiding yer bed?" Casey's head tilted in Raph's direction. " _Dude_. It's been forever since you've let anyone near yer bed."

"Ugh. Not since that last dipshit you dated," April added.

Raphael turned to his sister. "This is weird," he said, giving her a pointed look since there were just some things she didn't need to know. Just like he didn't need to know about anything Casey did behind closed doors with his sister.

April rolled her eyes at him. "What? Should I go sit on that rock over there and pretend like I don't know what's going on? I can't do that, Raph. Not when I know you're sitting out here in the cold and hurting from this relationship - ,"

"This wasn't a relationship," he tried to interject.

"Yeah, you have _zero_ feelings for this guy and that's why you've been moping around for days." April shot him a hard look. "I already had to watch you pretend not to care when that last relationship fell apart after the asshole suddenly decided he couldn't deal with the turtle part."

Raph sent Casey a withering glare. "I'm gonna start callin ya _Motormouth Jones_. You tell her everything?"

Casey shrugged, unimpressed with Raph's glare. He'd had to balance out his friendship with Raph with his relationship with April his entire life. There was bound to be some crossover. "She cares about ya."

April shivered in the cold. In their hurry to rush after Raphael she'd forgotten to grab her jacket. "Look, Raph, we're not here to talk you out of being upset. You're allowed to be upset."

"Then why are ya here?" Raph grumbled, avoiding eye contact with both of them.

"Because I'm not letting you sleep out here again."

"Come spend the night at our house," Casey added.

April watched her brother grimace. "Say yes or Casey and I will sleep out here with you."

"Wait, we'll what? I'll freeze."

"Grow up you big baby," April teased.

Raph felt a smile tug at his lips as he listened to the two of them.

" _Fine_." He pushed himself to his feet and offered April a hand to help her up out of the sand as well.

The walk to April and Casey's house was mostly spent in silence. It wasn't until he was sitting in the warmth of their kitchen with just April and mugs of hot chocolate that she made another attempt to get Raphael to open up.

"Come on, Raphie, you're really not going to tell me what happened?" She waited. And then sighed loudly when it was clear her brother wasn't going to talk. "Can I ask you a question then?" She continued before he even had a chance to respond. "I know it's been hard for you to always be the only turtle on this island. So I'm just kind of wondering if -,"

April paused, and his sister's actual loss for words made Raph nervous about what she was about to say.

"Well, I mean, was it because he was a turtle? Or -," April cut herself off the second Raph's bright green eyes jerked up to her own with a fierce look and a flash of anger. She nodded back to him and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Okay," she said softly. "So you really liked him. So why aren't you going after him?"

Raph stared down at his mug. He wasn't going after him because if Leo wanted him around he wouldn't have snuck off without a word in the middle of the night. Or he would've left a note. Or called. Or fucking come back. He slowly shook his head in response.

"You're a stubborn ass," she said fondly. "But if you want to talk about it later, I'll be right here."

"Thanks, April," he said quietly. "Yer a good sister, even if yer not a turtle."

"Har har." April dug into her bag and pulled out the folder she'd had at the bar earlier. "For now, would you mind looking over some business stuff with me?"

"This isn't that marketing crap again, is it? I told you I don't care which - ,"

"No, this is something different. A major complication I've been trying to deal with."

Raphael frowned when he heard the true frustration in her voice. He leaned forward on the kitchen table, signaling to her that she had his full attention.

"I've had the _weirdest_ week," April slid the folder over to Raphael. "Look at this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you - every single one of you - for the comments you've been leaving. I didn't think I was going to get this chapter out today - especially because this chapter fought me hard while I was writing it. But knowing you're following along with the story forced me to rally!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Although the picture wasn't created until I began typing out the next part of this story, I couldn't resist including it in this chapter as well. My way of saying there's a fun surprise now included in this chapter, thanks to a fun commission from Ninjazure.

Leo struggled as he tried to get books from a box on the ground up onto a shelf. However, he groaned in frustration as all the books he'd been trying to lift flew out of his hand and sprawled across the floor, the result of his trying to pick up too many in one hand.

"Leo, what are you doing?"

Leo sighed and looked up at Donnie from where he was kneeling on the ground, trying to collect the books he'd dropped.

"I told you I would do that." Donnie knelt next to him and pushed Leo's hand away in order to pick up the books himself.

"You should be doing your homework."

"I already did my homework. I can shelf the inventory." Donnie knocked Leo's hand away again. "Go sit down."

The bell on the shop's door rang, signaling a new customer, and Leo left Donnie to clean up his mess as he maneuvered around the bookstore's shelves and made his way towards the front to see if he could be of any assistance.

"Can I help you?"

Leo was asking the question before he was visible to the customer and Raphael watched as Leo froze when he was spotted, with his mouth comically dropped open.

"Ya want to take a guess at what I want?"

"Raph." Leo's mouth finally closed and he took a few steps towards Raphael, stopping when he noticed Raph tense.

Raphael stared hard at him, determined to stay angry, despite the sheer relief he could see in those blue eyes. _Why on earth would Leo be relieved to see him? And_ –

"What the hell'd ya do to yer arm?" Raph's eyes had finally moved away from Leo's eyes and scanned over the rest of him. One of Leo's wrists was in a cast. His eyes narrowed in on the cast. From what he could tell, someone had used an orange marker to cover it in dinosaurs.

"It's not a big deal." Leo's good hand tried to cover the casted wrist.

"Yes it is. It's a broken wrist."

Raph's eyes moved past Leo to see who the new voice belonged to. His eyes widened slightly when he spotted the second turtle he'd ever seen, a tall guy who was carrying a stack of books and coming to stand next to Leo.

"So don't let him carry anything for you."

"Donnie," Leo said, shooting the other an exasperated look.

"Or reach for anything above shoulder height. His shoulder was dislocated too and he _should_ be letting it rest."

"Donnie," Leo growled.

"Donatello?" Raph asked as he watched the frustrated exchange between the two turtles.

Donnie turned to eye the newcomer who apparently knew his full name. "Yes, that's right."

He was about to ask more when the bell on the shop's door rang once again. As the door flew open, one more turtle entered the room, although he flew past Raphael and beelined for Leo. Leo was knocked back a step as the small turtle threw his arms around Leo's waist in a tight hug.

"Look!" the little turtle exclaimed, breathlessly. He held up a paper up for Leo to inspect. "I got voted most cheerful! Out of the whole class!"

Now it was Raphael's turn to stare in comical open-mouthed shock as Leo took the paper from the little turtle's waving hands and then smiled as he read the certificate. The little turtle stood beaming up at him as Leo congratulated him on the award. Raphael could only continue to stare at the little one, with his light green skin that was covered in freckles, as he jumped up to grab the paper from Leo's hands in order to dash over to where Donnie stood.

"D! Look at this!"

With the small turtle showing off his prize to the tall turtle, Raph turned back to Leo and asked in a very low voice, "Do you have a son?"

"No," Leo answered quietly in return as he shook his head. "They're both my little brothers."

"Do you think," Raph said slowly as he tried to wrap his head around the fact that Leo had two turtle brothers, "that since I dragged my ass all this way, that we could talk in private?"

* * *

Once he'd sufficiently showed off his new prize to his brothers, the little turtle finally noticed that Raphael was there and he promptly waved the certificate up to Raphael until Raph took it to read as well. _Michelangelo Hamato – Most Cheerful_.

Raph watched Leo close up the bookstore, then instruct his brothers that they were all going up to their apartment. Michelangelo grabbed his hand as they climbed the stairs and quickly began to list off the names of each of his friends and exactly what certificate each of them had received as well.

"Then there's Leatherhead. He got the best laugh award. But he said that I should have his certificate because I'm the one who always _makes_ him laugh."

Raph found himself smiling down at the little turtle as they climbed. "So did you take it?" Out of the corner of his eye he could see Leo repeatedly glancing in his direction as he unlocked their apartment door.

"No way, man! Then he wouldn't have a certificate to take home!"

Raphael followed the other three into the apartment and Michelangelo released his hand in order to sprint towards the kitchen.

"Donnie can you -"

"Feed Mikey a snack and keep an eye on him?" Donnie finished for his brother.

"Yes. Thank you. And don't -"

"Leave the apartment. We got it, Leo."

Leo glanced towards Raph again before he turned and headed down a hallway. Raphael followed him wordlessly and closed the door behind them once Leo ended their journey in a small bedroom.

"Raph," Leo started right away, turning to Raphael where he stood on the opposite side of the room, "Raphael I'm so -"

"Do ya know a guy name Oroku?"

For the second time that day, he watched Leo's mouth drop open in shock. But then Leo closed his mouth and those big blue eyes stared back at Raphael, practically pleading with him to let him keep his secrets.

"Maybe I should go first," Raph said. "And then you can talk. And since _you owe me_ , you are gonna fill in the blanks." He stared hard at Leo and waited for a nod before he continued. "I'm gonna start at the beginning, so just bear with me for a minute. Ya see, being that I grew up on a tiny island where everyone knew me, it was pretty hard for me and Casey to get our hands on beer when we were in high school. So I started brewing my own beer. And I got pretty good at it, even though it drove my grandma and sister crazy."

"Why crazy?" Leo asked quietly.

Half of Raph's mouth twisted up in a small grin. "There's a step in the process where the hops stink up the whole house. They hated that part. Couldn't stand the smell. Never bothered me, though. Maybe it's a turtle thing." He shrugged a little when he saw Leo's small smile. "Anyway, that restaurant I took ya to is actually owned by my family. Well, by me and my sister now since our grandma passed away a few years ago. And while my sister took over most of the marketing and business side, I was given free reign to run the bar attached to it."

"Run the bar?"

Raph nodded. "The boring stuff like hiring bartenders and keepin track of schedules. But, I also get to stock the bar, and we're to the point where not only is every beer on tap from my own Blake Island Brewery, but my stuff is now shipped off to the mainland and sold in a few Seattle restaurants and bars."

"That's incredible, Raph." Leo's smile spread slowly as he said the words. "That explains why you always looked like you were inspecting your drinks. Maybe I should've tried some of your stuff."

Raph offered up a half shrug. "Ya did, actually." He continued when he saw Leo's confused look. "I branched out to vodkas a while back. That Red Ninja ya liked so much was mine."

Leo's eyes lit up and he huffed out an impressed noise.

"For my next project, I wanted to create a vodka that represents the Pacific Northwest, which my sister is all about because she can see the stuff practically selling itself, making her marketing job easier. So she sent me off island on a little research trip, because there's a vineyard one town over from here that has some grapes that may work as an ingredient."

"So you were flying home from a research trip when we met," Leo said thoughtfully before Raph watched those blue eyes refocus on his own face. "What a talent you must have, Raph."

Leo was smiling at him again. And it was genuine and proud and warming Raph in a way that he wasn't sure was smart. Raph turned his shell towards Leo and did his best to remind himself of how hurt he'd been when Leo had disappeared on him. But his thoughts on the matter stopped when he suddenly spotted the photo that had been taken of the two of them in the Space Needle. Leo had printed it. And framed it. And had it sitting on his bedside table.

He huffed out a soft noise, secretly touched that Leo had placed it in a location that allowed him to look at the two of them before he went to bed and as soon as he woke up. Then he turned back towards Leo and began talking again.

"So while I was down here doing that, my sister, April, found a new product that could actually catch –"

Leo stilled. " _April_?"

"Yeah."

Raph could see realization hit Leo like a truck. Much the way it had hit him when April had explained exactly who she was _supposed_ to be meeting last week to see if they could purchase the newly developed fog catchers to use for his new vodka line.

Raph continued before Leo could say anything else. "So from what I understand, these fog catchers _you_ have access to and were gonna pitch to my sister, are big sheets of mesh that get water-logged as fog floats through them, allowing us to pull water right out of the air. And didja know vodka is sixty percent water? April really figures that vodka made from actual Pacific Northwest fog will appeal to a lot of people."

"April Jones is your sister?" Leo asked slowly. "My contact person for my meeting on Blake Island was your sister? The one I had to call repeatedly to reschedule?"

Raph only nodded slowly in response.

"Your last name isn't Jones."

"Nope. She married my doofus best friend, Casey, after college."

Leo still looked like he was in shock. "I was supposed to meet with your sister, April, to see if she wanted to buy my brother's fog catchers? For your new vodka line?"

"Yup." Raph held Leo's eyes as he nodded again. He sat silently for another moment, letting their connection sink into the other turtle before he continued. "Only this Oroku guy showed up at April's office for one of those original meetings ya scheduled. And tried to pass off the design as his own. Thankfully April's always seemed to have a sixth sense about people. So after she met with him, she headed into Seattle so she could go directly to the patent office and get the name of the original designer. Which, it turns out, is someone named Donatello Hamato."

He paused then because Leo's eyes had drifted away from him and turned towards the floor, telling him that this part of his story was clearly not new information to Leonardo.

Refusing to sit on the edge of Leo's bed, he moved over to the chair Leo had in one corner and sat down. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "I think its yer turn to talk now."

Leonardo sighed and rubbed a hand across the back of his neck where he stood. But then he met Raph's eyes and began to speak.

"Donnie is fifteen years old and -"

"Whoa," Raph cut him off with a hand in the air, "the designer of those fog catchers is _fifteen_?"

Leo smiled a small proud smile and nodded. "He's the genius I mentioned. He's taking some college classes already and he's created so many inventions that his room has become more of a storage area for them than an actual bedroom. I've caught him sleeping on the couch a few times because he can no longer find his bed in there." Leo smiled fondly as he spoke of him. "He keeps pretty busy with his projects, which is great, but I'm also constantly on him about getting enough sleep and joining us for meals. Mikey seems to have caught on as well, because I've noticed him bringing Donnie snacks and such lately."

"And how old is the little bundle of energy?"

Leo laughed, fondness still lining his face as he switched gears to the other brother. "Mikey is six. Although, according to his teachers, he has way more energy than your average six year old. I've signed him up for every season of sport there is to try to get rid of some of the energy. And I take him swimming or sometimes even running as often as I can. He's a natural athlete. But I'm also stuck here working a lot, which means Mikey – and Donnie - are stuck here with me."

"And yer parents?"

"Our dad actually adopted all three of us individually. It was just me and him for a long time, but I can also vividly remember when he brought Donnie and then Mikey home. I began to joke with him that the adoption agency had him on speed dial every time a baby mutant turtle arrived."

Leo paused then and turned to look at a photo hanging on the wall. Raph's eyes followed and he saw Leo posing for a picture with both brothers and a Japanese man with a friendly smile.

"I never realized how much work we all were until he was gone and I was suddenly in charge of everything concerning Donnie and Mikey."

"How long has he been gone?"

"Two years."

Raph waited, but Leo didn't elaborate further. Instead, his face looked a little lost as unfocused eyes moved back towards the floor. Whether he was mad at the guy or not, Raph couldn't handle the lost look on the other turtle. He decided to switch gears.

"Ya want to tell me who this Oroku guy is now?"

Leo's good hand lifted to his cast again and Raph refocused on the drawings, suddenly realizing that the childish artwork had probably been placed there by the turtle child he'd just met.

"Saki Oroku was like an uncle to me when I was a kid. He was my dad's business partner. They owned that bookstore downstairs together. But my father bought him out years ago and they stopped talking after that. But Saki showed up after my dad died, and he's been trying to get me to sell the business to him. Although, I know he doesn't really want the business, he just wants us out of here so he can have the property itself."

Raphael frowned as he listened and was once again relieved that April hadn't trusted this guy when he showed up in Leo's place for the meeting.

"To be honest," Leo continued, "even though I grew up here, I've never really enjoyed this business. It was just a place to hang out with my dad. I moved out when I went to college, but after dad died, I moved back in with my brothers and I've been doing my best because it's been keeping a roof over their heads. But without my dad here it's been difficult to keep it going. So much so that I was actually thinking about taking Saki's latest offer. But then Donnie came up with his invention and I thought that if we could sell it, then we could buy a little bit more time to come up with a plan. Or a next step. Because selling the business to Saki would feel too much like a betrayal to my father."

Leo took a step back and leaned his shell against his dresser.

"Raphael I'm sorry," he said, getting out the apology that Raphael wouldn't allow him to say earlier.

"Why'd ya leave like that?" Raph was able to ask the question, but he wasn't able to look at Leo when he said it.

"I - "

Raphael waited for Leo to continue and when he didn't, he lifted his eyes to look at the other turtle. It seemed Leo was waiting for that eye contact, because he smiled fondly at Raphael and then began talking again.

"Raph, I was having a good time being a normal, single guy. Someone who wasn't trying to save his family business or take care of two little brothers or worry about being alone forever because no one in their right mind would want to be a part of this deal."

Raphael frowned because Leo's voice was slightly angry as he said those last words. And the words themselves didn't sound right coming out of Leo's mouth. It sounded more like Leo was repeating something he'd heard.

"Who said that to ya?"

"The guy I was dating when I moved back home and took over everything here. My point is, I was just having fun being with you, Raphael. No matter what we were doing, I was having fun with you."

Those blue eyes were looking fondly at him again and _goddamn it_ because Raph was pretty sure his own eyes were full of admiration as well. But then he steeled himself again as he thought about the pain of being unexpectedly deserted.

"Ya were having so much fun you crept out in the middle -"

Leo cut him off. "I got a phone call from Donnie a few hours after we fell asleep that night, because of course Donnie wasn't sleeping at that hour." Leo nearly rolled his eyes. "You still want me to fill in all the holes in the story?"

Raphael leaned back in his chair and nodded at the suddenly determined turtle.

"Donnie thought someone had broken in to our home a couple days prior, but didn't want to bother me with it since he couldn't tell what had been stolen. But that night he realized his original blueprints for the fog catchers were missing. So he finally called and told me what was going on. And that he suspected Saki was the one who took them."

Raph's eyes focused in on the new steely look in Leo's eyes.

"While I was off pretending I didn't have any real responsibilities, my brothers were in danger. I know leaving you without a word was a real shit thing to do, but I had to get home immediately. And I know you're going to say that I should've woken you up and told you, but –"

Raph's glare silenced Leo as he rose to his feet. "Yes, you fucking should've," Raph growled at him.

"I missed you as soon as I left," Leo said suddenly, unintimidated by Raph's hulking presence or his growl. "And I told myself that I'd call you as soon as I got home. I just needed to make sure my brothers were okay first."

"But you didn't," Raph growled. He glared at Leo as he remembered the amount of time he'd spent stupidly staring at his phone, waiting for the other turtle to contact him. But then he looked closer at Leonardo, because Leo was nervously fiddling with the edges of his cast. "Were they safe?" he asked slowly.

Leo moved to his bed and sat on the end of it. "Yes."

A familiar silence fell after Leo's one word answer and Raph took another step towards him. "Don't shut down on me now, Fearless."

Leo swallowed. "Saki was here when I got here."

"In yer home?"

"He was tired of waiting for me to sell to him. Said that if I was gone, he'd get custody of Donnie and Mikey, due to some old paperwork he had from my dad. And if he had custody of my underage brothers, he'd have control of the store."

"If you were gone?" Raph asked slowly, taking another step towards Leo as he felt his chest begin to tighten.

"He said he didn't really want to kill me here in our town because he thought it'd be suspicious. So he was waiting for me to get off my plane in Seattle. And when I didn't show up, he went to Blake Island to wait for me there."

Raph sat on the bed next to Leo with his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

"How'd he know ya were gonna be on the island?"

"Donnie thought Saki must have had access to my phone, something the police have confirmed. He and Mikey were staying with a neighbor I trust while I was gone. And I called to check in often, which means –"

"This guy would've known about the changes in yer trip and where ya were gonna be."

"Except I didn't tell Donnie or Mikey about you. So when Saki canceled my hotel reservation, as a way to leave me stranded on a tiny island with no where to stay, he had no idea that I actually did have a place to stay. So thankfully he never found me on the island. But then he went to meet with April."

"Because if she bought the fog catchers from him she couldn't buy them from you and you'd be more desperate to sell yer book store to him. Get back to the part where he was here in yer home. Where were yer brothers?"

"Saki was here when I walked through the door. I hadn't even picked my brothers up from the neighbor yet."

"Then what?"

"Well, he talked for a bit, told me what he'd done, which gave me the chance to hit the 911 emergency button on my phone. Then he attacked me and I fought him off until the police arrived."

"And that's how you got a dislocated shoulder and a broken wrist?"

"Yes."

"You survived," Raph said, hoping the pride he felt for the other turtle came across in his voice. The way Leo's eyes lifted to meet his told him it did. "Which is good because I would've killed ya if ya hadn't."

Leo huffed out a small laugh. But then he sobered and said, "I just couldn't let him near my brothers."

Raph wrapped an arm around Leo's shell and pulled him in against his side. The tense muscles in Leo's arms and face that he had been watching while Leo talked remained that way until he gave him another squeeze and Leo finally released a breath and relaxed against him.

"Were ya really not gonna call me?"

Leo's sudden movement to stand and move a few steps away from him was a surprise. So was the angry tone of voice Leo had when he began speaking again.

"And drag you into a dangerous situation?" Leo stared back at Raph with wide worried eyes. "No way."

"Leo-"

"No. I barely kept my brothers safe. The least I could do was keep you safe."

Raph paused for a moment and watched Leonardo. Leo hadn't called because he was too busy trying to protect everyone. And because he didn't think Raphael would want anything to do with the troubles he faced in his private life. Raph thought about what to say next, because he really needed Leo to stop and listen to him.

"You said you needed me. Did ya mean it?" He held Leo's blue eyes with his own and watched as they softened.

"Yes, but -"

"But what?"

"I was being selfish. I was just letting myself have this – this trip with you, even though I knew I couldn't keep you. I'm sorry, Raphael."

Raph stood and began to invade Leo's personal space. He could practically hear Leo's heart beat faster the closer he got.

"You'd be okay with that?" he rumbled over to Leo when he stood mere inches away from him. "You don't want more than just a memory of some trip ya took?"

"I do," Leo whispered slowly. "But I'm not the only one in this picture."

"Leo, I want ya to listen very carefully to me." He gripped Leo's chin to ensure those blue eyes stayed locked with his own. "I didn't like waking up without you-,"

"Raph, I'm really so-"

" _Listen_ ," he growled and Leo quickly shut his mouth. "If I have to accept two new little brothers into my life in order to keep ya, then sign me up."

The muted hope in Leo's eyes was going to kill him, especially since he could see Leo gearing up to argue with him about the responsibilities that came with two little brothers. Or the worry regarding a mad man intent on destroying him.

But Raph was done talking. He pulled Leo forward until he was crushing Leo into his plastron. Leo's only response was to sigh out in relief as he went willingly into the squeeze. He wrapped his good arm around Raph's shell and then nuzzled Raph's cheek before he began pressing his lips to the side of Raph's face. The first few kisses were feather light, as if he wasn't sure how Raphael would respond. But Raphael didn't leave him wondering for long. He turned his head so that he could meet Leo's lips with his own and squeezed Leo even tighter against him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Confession – I wrote this chapter first and then backtracked to get here. It turned into a fun way to get my ideas down and beat back writers block regarding some timeline issues I was having with the rest of the story. And since I already knew exactly where this one was going, it's been fun to read your guesses and questions (and all that Leo hate for the last chapter). Thanks for following along with me. I believe there's one more chapter left to round this story out.
> 
> Also, while I was stuck on that plane that needed maintenance for two hours (and trying to ignore the dude in front of me who was reciting the Gettysburg Address) I actually read the magazine provided by the airline in those little seat pockets, which included an interesting article that mentioned a company called FogQuest who actually created the fog catchers I described. Although, the main point of the story was a company called Hangar 1 who used the fog catchers in order to create a vodka they could claim was made from San Francisco fog. These fog catchers obviously also have the ability to help areas affected by drought, and while Hangar 1 charges $125/bottle, they're also donating all the profits to water conservation.
> 
> #themoreyouknow
> 
>  
> 
> [Also, here's a link back to Flickr, which is kind enough to let me store my photos to be embedded in stories](https://flic.kr/p/VGh89J)


	8. Chapter 8

It wasn't something that he'd requested, but Leo was always right beside him every morning when he woke up. Even though he'd learned that Leo was an early riser and _always_ woke up before him.

But Leo didn't seem to mind waiting in bed for Raph to wake up. And Raph counted himself as pretty damn lucky to wake up to those blue eyes and that soft smile and those strong legs that would wrap around him as soon as Leo realized Raphael was awake.

He rolled himself now on top of Leo and treated himself to Leo's scent as he leached his own mouth to Leo's neck. His lips moved over Leo's skin until Leo was panting and doing his best to rub up against him.

"Leo!" Mikey's voice reached them loud and clear from the opposite side of the house.

Raph froze above Leo and Leo sighed in exasperation.

"I can't find my bookbag! Leo!"

Raph nuzzled his face against Leo's and kissed him once more before he pulled back and climbed out of the bed, leaving Leo to collect himself, as he went in search of the missing bag.

The bag which was on the hook by the door. Just like it was every morning.

* * *

"Raph, heads up!"

Mikey jumped off the side of one of the brewery's large fermenting tanks – _how the hell did the kid keep getting up there?_ – and Raph jerked himself forward in order to catch the small turtle before he pancaked onto the ground.

"Mikey!"

"Good catch, dude!"

"And what if I didn't catch ya?"

"You'll always catch your little brother!" Mikey exclaimed, smiley and happy as Raph stood him up on the ground. "Turtles, first!"

"Turtles first, huh?" Raph asked, thinking simultaneously about how easily Mikey referred to him as his brother, while also thinking back to the few times he himself had said that phrase to Leo. And the soft look he always got from Leo in response.

"Yeah, dude. Leo says that to us all the time! It's like his motto."

"It's a pretty good one." Raphael continued down the line of the tanks, checking the pressure on each one as he passed them. "I'd tell ya to stop climbing up there but I don't think yer ears work."

"Those things are better than climbing trees!" Mikey said as he followed along.

"Ya know there are plenty of actual trees on this island." He watched as Mikey only continued to grin up at him as he turned them towards his small office. He'd picked up both turtles after school today and when they'd arrived at the brewery earlier, Donnie had taken over his office to work on his homework. "Donnie, lets move it!"

He hit the lights on their way out and had begun to walk in the direction of home when his phone buzzed. He pulled it and read the text from Leo: _Change of plans. Meet me at the restaurant, please._

"Does it say if he got good news today?" Donnie grabbed Mikey's hand as he asked, determined to keep the little turtle from wandering down a side street.

"No." Raph shook his head. "Think he'd just come out and say if it was good news?"

Donnie shrugged and then adjusted his backpack on his shoulder. "You know Leo. He keeps stuff close to the shell."

Raph grinned. Partly because he'd learned this about Leo the hard way. And partly because, having grown up without other turtles, he'd missed out on certain sayings, like _close to the shell_. He'd even laughed out loud the other night when Mikey had spilled his milk cup and responded with a loud " _Oh shell_!" Leo had given him the evil eye for encouraging Mikey, but his loud laughter in response to the little guy's turtle-appropriate cursing couldn't be helped.

The three of them entered the restaurant and a smile spread across his face as he spotted Leo leaning against the bar and talking to both April and Casey. Then he watched as blue eyes lit up when he was spotted and Leo left their two human family members in order to greet him with a kiss that had Mikey making kissy faces at them in response.

"Does this mean ya have good news?" His arms pulled at Leo's elbows, keeping him close to him for the moment.

"I'm pretty sure I'd kiss you like that no matter what."

Donnie rolled his eyes and moved himself away from the lovesick turtles and headed over to say hi to April and Casey, which was still keeping him in close enough proximity to hear what Leo had to say next.

"But yes, I do have good news."

"They had a spot for ya?"

"Yes they did." Leo smiled at Raph's proud grin and then looked to his two brothers as well to make sure they'd heard about his new job. "In the very subject I was trained to teach in fact."

"Wait, what subject?" Raph asked.

When Leo had told him he'd earned a teaching degree in college and had quit a high school teaching position in order to take over the bookstore, he'd never thought to ask Leo exactly what subject he'd been teaching.

He tilted his head in question when Leo's grin only grew wider.

'I'm a history teacher."

Raph guffawed. There was no other word for it. April even came around the bar to check on her brother since the noise was slightly alarming. Like the sound someone makes when they're choking. Even Mikey stood silently next to him with his own confused, although amused, look on his small face.

"Ya hate history," Raph finally managed to say after a few minutes of solid laughter.

"No, I love history." The amusement in Leo's voice about making Raphael laugh this hard was clearly apparently.

"Why is this funny?" Donnie finally asked as his eyes darted back and forth between the two older turtles.

"Well, I love history when _I'm_ teaching it at least," Leo added. "Besides, if you had the chance to get away from an old man butchering a famous speech while _also_ getting a chance to have a drink with a good looking turtle, wouldn't you take it?"

Raph's eyes nearly had tears in them, but his smile softened on Leo's face and he nodded.

"Hell yeah I would."

* * *

Because Raphael knew his island like the back of his hand, he was fairly certain he already knew the best spot for the fog catchers to sit. But he still dragged Donnie out there early one morning when the fog was at its heaviest for a second opinion.

The location wasn't super far from his brewery, which was perfect for an island without any cars, but it was still far enough to make lugging the gallons of the water produced by the fog catchers a strenuous task. Raph was still trying to figure out the best solution for that problem, _other than making Casey carry them_ , when Donnie appeared one day with a modified golf cart capable of pulling a trailer filled with water tanks.

And a few days later, Donnie had taken over a section of the brewery and set him up with a carbon filtration system to clean the fog-water.

And a week later, he found Donnie trying to create an assembly line for the beer side of his business. Raph had mentioned during dinner with his new turtle family that one of his main issues with exporting his beer lines was that he had no patience for filling individual bottles or capping individual bottles, which meant he sent kegs only off island. But he had a few places that had begun requesting crates of bottles as well.

Donnie looked up at him sheepishly when he approached but began talking before Raph could ask questions. "I may have broken about a dozen bottles so far. I think I fixed the glitches in the filling system, so each bottle will be filled the correct amount. But, I can see why you hate capping these things. And in my research I learned that if not capped properly, there's a risk of oxidization, so I -,"

"Hey, Don," Raph interjected as he examined the moving parts to Donnie's new invention.

"Yes?" Donnie asked, moving his eyes up to Raph.

"Yer inventions are pretty awesome."

Donnie ducked his head, but Raph saw the appreciative smile. "Thanks. My dad and Leo usually said the same."

"Do ya miss the bookstore? Or yer old home?" Raph had packed Leo and his brothers up the very week he'd found Leo, brought them to the island, and moved them into his house. That had been a few months ago and just last week Leo had signed the paperwork to sell their building to a woman who was thrilled to get the chance to own a bookstore.

"No." Donnie shook his head. "I really appreciate the shed you gave me for a workshop, complete with a lock to keep Mikey out. And that, you know, Leo's actually happy again. No worries here, Raphael."

Raph eyed Donnie. He'd noticed that Donnie could be sarcastic at times, thankfully in a funny rather than caustic way. But Donnie seemed sincere in this moment. "Okay. Well, I _already_ don't know what I'd do without yer inventions around here. I just wanted to make sure yer weren't making so many because you were bored or -,"

Donnie's laugh cut him off. "No, Raphael. I think it's great here. And the fact that yer equipment is so basic and outdated just gives me a lot of things to focus on, which I enjoy."

"Well, great. Carry on then." Raph waited to frown until he was turned away from the other turtle. "Its not that outdated," he mumbled as he walked away.

* * *

Leo switched off the lights and left his classroom before beginning the short walk over to the restaurant. Usually he had Mikey with him, since their new ritual was for him to pick Mikey up at the elementary school next door at the end of the school day and bring him back to the high school. Then Leo finished up his daily lesson plans and Mikey enjoyed sitting in a big kid desk while he was forced to work on his own homework.

But today, Raph had asked if he could pick Mikey up and bring him to the restaurant to hang out with him after school instead, and Leo had thought it might be a good idea. Despite Mikey's natural ability to make friends with just about anyone, he _hadn't_ been making friends since they moved to the island. His teacher said the other kids tried to play with him but, for some reason, Mikey was keeping to himself.

Leo had tried to talk to Mikey about it, but the little turtle, a natural chatterbox, had clamped up. In fact, he may as well have pulled himself into his shell when Leo asked him if he had any friends at school he wanted to invite over.

Leo entered the restaurant through the main doors and smiled at the few members of the wait staff who were gearing up for the dinner rush. One of them pointed Leo in the direction of the kitchen without him having to ask where he could find Raph and Mikey.

He was almost through the doors of the kitchen when he was semi-tackled and pushed into a side wall. His laugh was muffled as Raph's mouth landed on his and he responded to having his shell shoved into the wall by tugging at Raph's shell to pull him closer. Raph dipped his head and ran his tongue up Leo's neck but pulled away with a dark chuckle when he felt the first vibrating indication of a churr from Leo.

"You starting something you can't finish?" Leo murmured to him.

He smiled at Leo's already hazy eyes and pressed his fingers against the back of Leo's shirt so he could feel the shell's ridges through the material.

"This corner isn't _that_ private, Fearless. Plus, I wanted to stop ya so you'd go in the kitchen quietly. Don't want ya disturbing the kid."

Leo refocused on Raph's face. "What's Mikey doing in there?"

"Well, I noticed that he liked to follow me around the kitchen at home - ,"

"He likes following you around anywhere you know."

Raph grinned but didn't reply to Leo's comment. "So I thought he'd like to follow Chef Anna around this afternoon as she prepped the food for dinner."

Leo's face lit up. "Raph, that's a great idea. Is he loving it?" Leo pushed the kitchen door open slightly to peek inside, but he only spotted Chef Anna working solo. He turned his head back to Raph, "Where is he?"

Raph pushed through the door without a word and led Leo to the back of the kitchen where Mikey was currently sprawled across the floor next to a small boy with a head full of blond curls. Leo stopped behind Raphael and rested his chin on Raph's shoulder as he watched Mikey grin and laugh with his new friend.

"Chef Anna had to bring her son to work today," Raph said quietly. "And Mikey lost interest in cooking as soon as Woody pulled out his comic books. They've been back here laughing ever since."

The two boys laughed just then in fact, still unaware of the two older turtles watching them, and Leo wrapped a hand around one of Raph's arms and squeezed.

"Have I told you today that you're the best?" Leo asked quietly as he happily watched cheerful Mikey at play.

Raph felt himself warm he pulled Leo into his side properly. Still, he shrugged. "Don't give me credit for this one. I just wanted him to learn how to cook so I wouldn't have to do all the cooking at home."

Leo chuckled into Raph's neck before planting a kiss there, not at all fooled by Raph trying to brush off his attempt at cheering up Mikey. "I told you I'd help you -,"

"You killed my toaster."

"I'm pretty sure that was faulty wiring - ,"

"Faulty wiring?" Raph practically rolled his eyes as he pulled Leo away from the boys to head back out to the bar. "Ya nearly melted the countertop."

* * *

"Whoa." Leo stopped in his tracks when Mt. Rainier suddenly came into view on the wooded hike Raph had invited him on that afternoon while Donnie and Mikey were spending time with Casey and April.

Raph stopped as well and glanced at the mountain top before he turned his attention back to Leo and admired the way Leo's blue eyes were lit up in amazement at the view. Feeling eyes on him, Leo turned his attention to Raphael and was soon wrapping his arms around Raph's shoulders.

"Does that view ever get old?"

"Nah, it's why I wanted to bring you out here."

"I love you."

It wasn't the first time Leo had said it, but Raph was pretty sure hearing it from Leo's mouth was _never_ going to get old.

"I love ya too."

Leo smiled softly at him in return before the smile turned into a devious grin and he began pushing Raphael back a few steps until his shell bumped into a tree, giving Leo the leverage he was looking for to rub himself against the other turtle as his mouth covered Raph's mouth.

"Is that the _only_ reason you brought me out here?"

Raph's fingers were already unbuttoning Leo's pants.

"Well, that, and I always wanted to try something out here." He switched positions with Leo so that he could press Leo into the tree before kissing him again. "And I think yer shell can take it." When their pants were both sent to the forest floor, he made fast work of prepping Leo, until Leo's churring noises were loud enough to wake up a nearby bird family, and then he hefted Leo up so that his legs could wrap around Raph's waist.

"Raphael." Leo moaned out his appreciation as Raph pushed into him. He tightened his arms around Raph's shoulders as Raph kept him lifted with hard hands gripping his thighs.

As Raph sank into that blessed heat, he pulled his head from Leo's shoulder and met Leo's eyes. Leo's hazy, half lidded, _take me_ , blue eyes. A churr rolled up his throat at the sight of those eyes alone.

He could hear Leo's shell hit the tree as he began thrusting into him, but Leo's only response was to throw his head back and churr again. So Raph pushed him harder against the tree so that he could free up one of his hands and grinned when Leo's sounds only became louder as Raph stroked Leo's own hard length.

"This is the view I came for," Raph murmured.

* * *

Mikey kept his eyes just above the water as he swam, _certain that he must look like a shark to anyone watching_ , as he beelined for Leonardo. He was pretty sure he was being pretty stealthy too, but when he made his move to splash his unsuspecting brother, Raph's sudden appearance from under the water blocked the water attack and Mikey yelped as Raph dove for him. He giggled loudly as he was tossed several feet in the air and landed in the water with a splash that managed to hit Leo where he stood in the water anyway.

Mikey sputtered as he came back to the surface, but he had a big smile on his face, and seeing that he was fine, Leo let Raph pull him underwater with him, where he was treated to a quick kiss and an even quicker teasing ass grab that had him laughing, forcing him to surface as well.

"D! Come play with us!" Mikey called out to Donnie where he sat on a rock along the shoreline.

"I'm reading."

"Read later." Mikey scowled as Donnie ignored him. He moved closer to the shoreline and grinned evilly when Donnie peeked over his book to glance at him.

"Don't you dare, Michelangelo."

"I bet that book wouldn't be as fun to read if it was all wet, huh Doooonnie?"

Donnie scrambled to get up and when he realized he was never going to make it to safety in time, he tossed the book to save it, and then suffered through Mikey's impressive splash. He stood slowly and looked down at his soaking clothes. "How on earth did you manage to get that much water over here?"

Mikey was bent over laughing where he stood, encouraged when he saw Leo and Raph trying to hide smiles. "I got skillz, D! Now get in here!"

Donnie tried to glare at Mikey, but he always found it hard to glare at his smiley little brother. So he sighed in dramatic defeat and then dove into the water in order to attack the tiny squealing turtle.

* * *

When Raph turned towards the bar and found a new patron sitting on one of his stools, his eyes narrowed immediately at the white rabbit who was pretending to look at the drink menu.

Back when Raph had helped Leo and his brothers move out of their apartment, he'd found a box of old photos. Most were from Leo's high school and college days, which is how Raph found out that Leo didn't just enjoy swimming, but that he'd gone to college on a swim scholarship. The pictures after college showed Leo spending time with a group of friends. A group of friends that included this exact white rabbit. And towards the bottom of the box were photos that included Leo and _only_ this rabbit.

When Raph brought the photo box to Leo to be packed, Leo's mouth had twisted into a grimace when he saw those particular old photos. And then Leo had shared that the rabbit was who he'd been dating when his father had died. And that he was also the one who'd quickly dumped Leo when it was clear Leo was going to stick by his brothers. And then Leo promptly threw the white rabbit photos into the trash.

"It's not all fun and games with him," the white rabbit said, darting a look up at Raphael.

"Nope, its not." Raph glanced over at the booth where Donnie and Mikey were sitting with their homework. His eyes had a certain glint of brotherly fondness that he wasn't about to admit out loud to the two young turtles, although he was pretty damn sure Leo had seen the look in his eyes more than once. Raph grinned then. "But those games I do get Leo to play with me?"

The white rabbit looked closely now at this turtle's impressive green eyes and then listened as he rumbled out that Leo was _worth it_ , a fact that the rabbit had realized only too late.

"Games, huh?"

"Don't even think about it," Raph growled lowly when he saw the interest in the rabbit's eyes. "Yer turn's over."

"Yes, perhaps with Leonardo it is." He ran his eyes over this new turtle, his mission for this trip suddenly changing from trying to scare this guy away from Leonardo and into possibly getting this new guy to come play with him instead. "But perhaps _you_ would care for a night out with someone who doesn't have a curfew? I bet you know plenty of nice places to see in Seattle."

Raph's eyes narrowed in obvious distrust. He rested his elbows on the bar and leaned forward and watched as the rabbit's eyes widened with interest.

"Ain't gonna happen." Raph locked his eyes with the newcomer, making certain his message was being received. "So if yer not gonna order anythin, I suggest ya find somewhere else to spend yer evening."

A small disappointed sigh left the rabbit's mouth, but he nodded in resignation and rose from his stool. "You be sure to call me if things change," he offered. "I'm sure I could be of some use for a lonely turtle."

Raph huffed out a noise of obvious disagreement but didn't say anything further. Instead, he turned back to what he'd been doing before and was happy to see the rabbit had disappeared when he glanced back to check on Mikey and Donnie.

* * *

"Mikey, did you finish your homework?"

"Yup! We learned about weather today."

"Really? What'd you learn?"

"That Fahrenheit is for hot and Celsius is for cold."

"Are you sure that's what your teacher said?" Leo glanced over at Raphael and Raph could already read the tease in Leo's eyes. "Or is that some special part of this island's elementary school curriculum?"

Raphael mock scowled at him in return. "Don't worry, Fearless, I hear we have a hot new teacher on the island who I bet can help him out."

"Hot like Fahrenheit hot?" Leo asked dryly before he broke down and smiled.

"Come on Mikey," Donnie said, dragging his little brother away from the other two. "I can review proper weather descriptions with you."

* * *

"I meant to tell you I, uh, I hate this shirt."

One corner of Leo's mouth quirked up and his eyes lit up in amusement. "Oh yeah? But it's your favorite color. I wore it just for you."

This was a game they both enjoyed and Raphael now did his best to stare in disdain at the shirt. "I'm not sure ya should do me any more favors." He also did his best to appear uninterested in Leo's smirk. But Leo's unique scent was already wafting up his nose, pulling him closer to Leo without conscious thought.

"Hmm," Leo hummed as his fingers trailed over one of Raph's forearms. "Well I suppose if you hate it, then maybe you should remove it."

Raphael glared down at the tiny buttons that ran the length of Leo's red shirt, the real reason, _he was sure_ , that Leo put the damn thing on. But one corner of his own mouth quirked up as he gripped the two sides of the shirt. And, in one swift movement, yanked hard enough to send the buttons flying through the air.

"Ya weren't attached to this shirt, were ya?" He lifted his eyes to Leo's and found Leo grinning widely at him in response.

"Nope." Leo's arms went around his neck and he pulled Raph down to the bed with him. "I'm only attached to you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The End.
> 
> I've never really written a chapter with just snapshots of day to day life like this, but I thought it might be a fun "where are they now" view before I put this story to bed. You guys have left some of the best comments on this story and I'm extremely pleased you liked it so much. Honestly, you just couldn't be any nicer.
> 
> I'd also like to send a special thanks to Sakycchan! Because without Sakycchan I never would've tried the turtles in this topside setting. And damn this was fun.
> 
> [Also, here's a link back to Flickr for the 1st picture, a site kind enough to let me store my photos to be embedded in stories](https://flic.kr/p/VGh76S)   
>  [And a link back to Flickr for the 2nd picture](https://flic.kr/p/W2Aomu)   
> 

**Author's Note:**

> [You can find me on Tumblr here!](https://reader115-tmnt.tumblr.com/)


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